There are tons of old franchises that are still around, bringing new entries every handful of years. Some examples of franchises still kicking are Ratchet and Clank, Prince of Persia, Resident Evil, and even Silent Hill.
Unfortunately, there are more franchises that we grew up with that are simply not around anymore and seem to be completely dead. Franchises that defined the early console generations, with unique stories and gameplay elements that helped defined some games today.
This list will go over eight dead franchises that should come back. To be considered for this list, the franchise has to have not seen a release in the past decade and have no signs of it coming back.
8
Jak and Daxter
Two Old Pals
If you owned a PlayStation 2 in the early 2000s, there’s a good chance that Jak and Daxter was part of your gaming catalog.
Jak and Daxter is one of Naughty Dog’s most popular IPs, blending platform action with peak comedy writing. There have been a total of three mainline Jak and Daxter games, as well as a few spinoffs, all of which were a ton of fun and did the franchise justice. There was even a racing game set in the Jak and Daxter universe.
While there has been a recent re-release of Jak and Daxter: The Last Frontier for the PlayStation 4 in 2024, it was just a port to more modern hardware.
In fact, there hasn’t been a brand-new Jak and Daxter since 2009, which is a real shame considering how important it was to so many gamers back in the day. A new entry into the Jak and Daxter franchise is long overdue, but unfortunately, Naughty Dog doesn’t even mention it.
7
Star Fox
Where’s the Fox?
There are many iconic characters from Nintendo’s catalog of games: Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Shulk, etc. All of these characters continue to get new video games, but there is one famous character that hasn’t had a new entry in a decade – Star Fox.
For some reason, Nintendo seems to have forgotten about one of its most iconic characters and haven’t even officially announced a new game in the Star Fox universe.
However, there is a chance that this will age badly, as there have been recent rumors that a new Star Fox game is being developed for the Nintendo Switch 2. But, as we have seen time and time again, rumors should always be taken with a grain of salt.
Hopefully this turns out to be true, though, since Star Fox is a lovable franchise filled with over-the-top action and great stories. It’s tiring to see this character only appear as a side character, rather than asthe lead.
6
SSX
Triple Backflip
There was nothing better than getting a group of friends together and taking turns pulling off the coolest moves in SSX Tricky.
This franchise was an absolute bast and some of the SSX entries are still considered some of the best sports games around. For example, SSX 3 won Console Action Game of the Year in 2000, which is pretty darn impressive. There was nothing quite like SSX back in the day, and even today, there hasn’t been anything to come close, really.
The famous snowboarding series hasn’t seen the light of day since the 2012 release of “SSX,” a reboot that attempted to reignite the franchise and bring it back from the dead. While it was reviewed well and did pretty well commercially, it wasn’t enough to bring it back, and EA hasn’t said much about the series since. Hopefully, we get another chance to shred the slopes in the near future.
5
Infamous
Become Good or Evil
It has been a long time since we received a new Infamous title, but it’s a franchise that we will never forget. Becoming a superhuman and deciding whether to use those powers for good or evil granted the player a ton of choice, adding plenty of replay value, but eventually, you’d exhaust everything the game has to offer and be left wanting more. Unfortunately, gamers have never received anything more, as the last title was released all the way back in 2014.
It makes sense as to why there hasn’t been another Infamous in so long, considering the developers behind it, Sucker Punch, had been hard at work creating their popular adventure games Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei.
However, the devs not even mentioning the franchise anymore feels a bit harsh, especially as a longtime fan, and makes me believe that the Infamous series is completely dead.
4
Resistance
Intense Shooter Action
There has been a total of four Resistance games, with three of them being developed by Insomniac Games and one developed by Bend Studio.
The former created the first three mainline games for consoles, while the latter created an experience for the PlayStation Portable. The franchise hasn’t seen a new entry since 2011, and all signs are pointing to the fact that it’s dead and forgotten about.
It’s a real shame, too, considering Resistance was extremely popular among shooter fans back in the day. It had intense and addictive gunplay, a dark and crude story, and overall, just felt really good to play, even compared to some modern games out there now.
If Insomniac Games and Bend Studio stuck with this franchise, it could have been one of gaming’s biggest successes in the shooter space. Unfortunately, Sony turned down a pitch for a fourth Resistance due to “market conditions.”
3
Portal
Best Puzzles Around
There have been plenty of great puzzle games over the years, but nothing holds a candle to Valve’s Portal games. These are simply, without a doubt, some of the best puzzle games ever created, filled with complex solutions that force players to put on their thinking caps.
Not only are the puzzles fantastic, but the Portal games also have a deep story, interesting lore, and hilarious writing that will leave you chuckling non-stop.
There has been a total of two Portal games, with Portal 2 being released all the way back in 2011. Since then, there hasn’t been any information regarding a new entry, and the chances of Portal 3 becoming a real thing is becoming slimmer as time goes on.
With Valve being focused on its new Deadlock game and the rumors of Half-Life 3 in the works, it seems like the developers are simply too busy to give this franchise another chance.
2
Dark Cloud
An RPG Gem
My favorite franchise from my childhood was Dark Cloud, a series that introduced me to the RPG genre.
Its dungeon-crawling style gameplay, addicting combat, and even unique base-building mechanics, a feature that was extremely rare at the time, had me losing hundreds of hours glued to the controller. Its sequel, Dark Cloud 2, took everything great from the original and improved upon it for an even better experience.
The best part about the Dark Cloud franchise was its story, as it told a classic, yet deep, tale about good and evil and saving the world.
Unfortunately, the franchise has been stagnant since the release of the second Dark Cloud in 2002, almost 15 years ago, and there hasn’t been any information since. It seems like Level 5, the game’s developers, just completely forgot about this gem and left it to rot, which is very unfortunate.
1
Manhunt
Stealth and Horror Mixed
Rockstar Games is known for its Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto games, both of which have been phenomenal.
However, back in the day, Rockstar Games released Manhunt, a third-person stealth-horror game focused on taking down enemy gangs. The game was all about hunting or being hunted, hence why it was called “Manhunt.” It was incredibly fun, had scary moments, and excelled in stealth encounters.
It doesn’t look like Rockstar Games is even talking about making a new Manhunt game, especially since its focused on its two commercially successful franchises mentioned above.
The only way I ever see it coming back is if the IP is handed over to a different developer, willing to bring it back from the dead. However, there is no rumors or leaks about this happening, so it’s just wishful thinking at the end of the day.
